Holding device.



E. BROTHERS.

HOLDING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 13, 1912.

Patented June 24, 1913.

I 710671227 ($5; Wm

coumuzm FLANDURAPH cu.,wAsmmiToN. 12 c1 invention.

UNTTED STATES PAT ELI BROTHERS, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO' FBIEDERIC E. BERTRAND, OF SWAMPSCOTT, MASSACHUSETTS.

HOLDING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 24,1913.

Application filed May 13, 1912. Serial No. 696,815.

To all who 11bit may concern.

Be it known that T, ELI BROTHERS, a citizen of the United States, residing in Lynn, county of Essex, and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Holding Devices, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to a holding device for billiard cues and like articles, and has for its object to provide a simple, and efficient device for the purpose specified. To this end, I employ two rotatable members which are eccentrically mounted in a suit able frame or support with their centers in a substantially horizontal plane and their pivots located beyond vertical plane's through said centers and below the horizontal plane, whereby the weight of said members serves to automatically move the same toward each other, so as to bring their circumferences into what may be termed their normal gripping position, whereby they become active to grasp the one or other article inserted between them, as soon as the said cue is released by the operator.

The gripping action of the rotatable members may and preferably will be assisted by means of a spring connecting said members and preferably located in a horizontal plane through the pivots for said members.

The rotatable members may and preferably will be provided with concaved peripheries, which assist in centering the cue or other article and in increasing the grip of the members on said article, and said concaved peripheries may and preferably will be provided with a covering or sleeve of rubber or like material.

These and other features of this invention will be pointed out in the claims at the end of this specification.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of one construction of holding device embodying this Fig. 2, a plan of the device shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3, a rear elevation with parts in section, and showing a portion of a cue held by the device.

Referring to the drawings, a, 72 represent two rotatable members, which may be cylinders of wood or other suitable material, having shafts or pivots 0, (Z, which are journaled in asuitable frame or support consisting as herein sh wn of a back p a e 0, a fr nt.

plate 12 and connecting end plates or bars 13, said parts being preferably made of iron and cast in one piece. The pivots or shafts 0, (Z, are eccentric with relation to the centers 14-, 15 of the members a, Z), and located below a horizontal plane through said centers and beyond vertical planes through said centers, as clearly shown in 'Figs. 1 and 3, so that the weight of the portions of said members between said pivots, automatically acts to move said members downwardly and toward each other to grip a one 16 or other article which may be inserted between them.

The pivots 0, (Z, may be spaced apart a distance which will enable the members a, b to be brought into contact on the horizontal center line or slightly above the same, or said members may be separated from each other at the point of greatest throw of the eccentrics, in which case, said members are prevented from dropping or turning down below the horizontal line or plane through the pivots 0, (Z, by a spring 18 which is fastened at its opposite ends to the members a, b, at one end thereof at points which are substantially in the horizontal plane through said pivots. The spring 18 also assists' gravity in causing the members a, Z) to grip the one 16.

The rotatable members a, 7), may and preferably will be provided with concaved peripheries, as shown in Fig. 2, which assist in gripping the cue or other article, as they afford a greater length of contact with the circumference of the cue, and they also act to center the cue between the gripping members, whereby the one can be released substantially in an instant and hang straight.

The gripping members a, b, may and preferably will be provided with a covering 20 of rubber or other resilient material which assists in firmly gripping the one or other article.

In operation, the holding device is secured to the wall 21 or other support and when it is desired to hang up the cue or other article, it is only necessary to insert the upper end of the cue up between the gripping members and release the cue, which is instantly gripped by the saidmembers and properly hung. To release the cue, it is only necessary to rotate the members a, b, in an upward direction, which may be accomplished with the construction of frame herein shown, by means f a pull chain or cord. 22 fastene to one arm of a lever 23 which is mounted on the pivot c of one of the nembers as a and has its other arm 24, which is located below the pivot c, joined by a rod or link 25 to the member I) above its pivot. i i hen the chain or cord 22 is pulled down by the operator, the member a is rotated in the direction of the arrow 26 and the member 7) is rotated in the direction of the arrow 27, thereby open ing up the gripping members sufficiently to allow the cue to be removed.

hile it may be preferred to use a frame having the front plate 12 which closes the space between gripping members, it is not desired to limit the invention in this re spect, as the portion of the frame between the pivots 0, (Z, may be omitted, in which case the hand operated releasing mechanism may be omitted, as opportunity is afforded for rotating the members a, b, by the upward movement of the cue 16, until said members have been separated by a space substantially equal to the thickness of the cue, whereby the latter can then be pulled or moved out from between the members.

By eccentrically mounting the rotatable gripping members, with their pivots below the centers of said members and also beyond vertical planes through the centers of said members, a very effective and eliicient holding device is obtained, as the weight of the members tends to automatically move the same into their operative or gripping posi: tion, and as a result, the one can be inserted between the members and instantly released link connecting said lever with the other of said members, substantially as described.

2. in a holding device of the character described, in combination, a supporting frame, rotatable gripping members pivotally mounted in said frame in proximity to each other with their pivots located below the centers of said members beyond vertical planes through said centers and arranged to be rotated toward each other by a device interposed between the same, and means for manually rotating said members in the opposite direction to release said device, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ELI BRQTHERS.

Witnesses Jae. H. CnURoHiLL, J. MURPHY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for live cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, I). G. 

